Skip to main content
. 2013 Dec 20;8(12):e81860. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081860

Figure 4. The frequency distribution across model runs for adult females carrying an anti-pathogen gene when adult male transgenic mosquitoes were released in equal numbers at all sites.

Figure 4

Bars facing left describe results for an anti-pathogen gene that lacks a fitness cost; bars facing right describe results for an anti-pathogen gene that carries a fitness cost (5% reduction in the probability of survival per gene). For both left and right-facing bars, the frequency of adult females carrying an anti-pathogen gene increases vertically. Model runs resulting in population extinction are not shown on the histogram. Each panel describes the frequencies resulting from release programs with weekly releases at all sites for (A) a single year of male-only releases, (B) three years of male-only releases, and (C) a single year with both male and female releases. Lines between the frequency bars represent the average frequency of adult females carrying an anti-pathogen gene across runs that do not result in extinction. The first number at the top of each frequency bar represents the proportion (out of 30) of runs resulting in population extinctions without fitness costs associated with the anti-pathogen gene; the second number represents the proportion of runs (out of 30) resulting in population extinction with fitness costs associated with the anti-pathogen gene. For extinction frequencies larger than 0.1, the values have been rounded to one decimal place. Unlike the model runs illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, each model run represents a different, randomized spatial configuration of sites. Releasing one male and one female per site per week for three years always resulted in extinction. For all release strategies, increasing the number of individuals released can increase the average frequency of carriers of the anti-pathogen gene, but also increases the variability across model runs. The total release numbers range from approximately 250,000 to 1.5 million adult mosquitoes for single year releases and from approximately 750,000 to 2.3 million adult mosquitoes for three year releases (Table 4).